I am in the midst (okay more like the beginning) of planning a trip to Alsace/western Germany to visit Christmas markets with family members. I'd like to have a place to crash for a couple of days before meeting up with them.
I found the above hotel (Grand Hotel Francis) in the 11th. It's pretty close Place de la Nation. It seems kind of remote from the main sights, but is quite reasonable and is rated well by trip advisor.
Does anybody have experience (or thoughts) about this hotel?
It's not that remote from the main sites because you can take the RER A. I know someone who stays in that area because of the good prices at the hotels and restaurants in the area and the excellent transit connections. Nation station is served by the RER A as well as Metro lines 1, 2, and 6. RER A can take you from Nations to Etoile on the other side of Paris in 20 minutes. Line 6 or Line 9 can take you to the Eiffel Tower without having to change lines in about 35 minutes.
I wouldn't bother with the RER, but having the line 1 right there makes most of the central sights easily accessible. And then having the 2, 6, and 9 males the rest of the city accessible. The RER À is good if you want to tak RER B to the airport (with one small transfer) or go to the Galeries Lafayette / Printemps.big départment stores, or out to Disneyland.
The one thing that is kind of "far" from Nation is the Eiffel Tower area, but you can still get there
And then the 11th itself is where tons of great restaurants are.
This is one metro stop away from where I live, and one of the things I really like about living here is how easy it is to shoot in to the center on the line 1 (which is also the most reliable line since they automated it).
